Council to meet on ordinance, aquatics center

May 9, 2011

The Big Spring City Council will entertain a number of amendments to its Code of Ordinances Tuesday, including a change to its Business and Occupations section to help prevent the sale of stolen goods to secondhand stores.

According to Big Spring Police Chief Lonnie Smith, the amendment would provide a number of processes designed to prevent the sale of stolen goods and promote the recovery of such items.

â€śThese types of ordinances have been in effect for years for pawn shops,â€ť Smith recently told the council. â€śRequiring identification for those trying to sell the items and keeping records of the transactions helps law enforcement to track down stolen goods and not only return them to their rightful owners, but also to help arrest and prosecute those selling them.â€ť

Smith said area businesses dealing in secondhand goods should be required to gather the same information as the pawn shops when they buy goods.

â€śIt would also require the secondhand store to hold the items for seven days before being sold and prohibit the sale or purchase of certain goods that have had their identification numbers tampered with or removed,â€ť he said. â€śThe penalty provided would be no less than $100 and no more than $200.â€ť

The council will also consider an ordinance amending codes related to the municipal aquatic center, which is currently under construction.
The amendments would rename the code from â€śComanche Trail Park Municipal Swimming Poolâ€ť to â€śBig Spring Family Aquatic Center,â€ť as well as establish fees for entrance, pavilion rental and other transactions involving the facility.

The changes would also provide the city manager the authority to reduce or waive fees for the facility for use by non-profit or governmental entities. The council is also expected to consider approval of an agreement with Big Spring YMCA for operation of the aquatic center.
The proposed fees would include a $5 entrance fee for swimmers ages 3 and up, a $3 increase from entrance fees charged during the last year of the municipal swimming pool's operation.